2,257Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter, providing feed backs, and proving a scene of his own.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
Yes, I suggest you listen to the same named son From Persona 3 as you read this chapter.
Special thanks to in no particular order:
My former co-author Comrade Broseph who helped me developped so many concept for this story
My editor in chief Ace-Triad who helped me edit my mess of SPAG mistakes and provided action for battle scenes
My long time draft reader Angel Wraith who provided feedback on additional scenes
My counsultant Commissar Gaunt who give me information on medieval European history and social structures to make sure what I wrote isn't entirely made up wholesale and had a base of actual historical truth
And everyone who read, reviewed. Thank you all for motivating me to finally finish one of my long fictions!
Epilogue 2: Brand New Days
Even as the first ray of sunshine breaks through the horizon, the clang of weapons smashing against each other can be hurt in the garden of House Amelia's family manor in the capital. It might have drawn some complaints from their equally high class neighbors under any normal circumstance. Thankfully, any noble occupants that have no active role in the queen's court have cleared out from their capital manor and moved back to their fief or their keep. What happened in the past month was enough to make any powerful family nervous: A hostile takeover from the nation's most militant church. Riots, open warfare and even siege on the noble families. With the queen's return and verdict being passed on all those involved in Three Heroes' Church's ill-fated coup, there is nothing to look forward to.
The sound of weapons clashing together is suddenly interrupted with the sound of something heavy dropping on the ground. General Diaz Gazelle Anderson holds his giant glaive that looks more like a flagpole behind his back as he stands over the fallen form of the Spear Hero. Katarina and Bertia quickly run over to Motoyasu's side, but he suddenly holds his arm up. "Wait! I can still keep going!"
"Aren't you being too hard on Master Motoyasu, grandpa?" Iris trails her way over to the general. Her eyes a little bit accusing as she looks at her beaten betrothal, and then slowly turns back to General Anderson. "That's the reason why mother no longer lets you visit Barn anymore. You don't know your own strength, and you'd put Barn in bed for a month if we allowed you to train him like you wanted."
"BAH! And look at how your little brother turned out under your own parent's guidance. A skirt chasing butterfly with his head constantly stuck in the cloud! A man should strive to be the general of the army atop their steed, minister of the nation off their steed. To do that, you can't cuddle them. I'd not tolerate nearly as much of Barn's crap as your mom did." The general rolls his eyes as he points his left hand at the Spear Hero. "Besides, the boy is much tougher than he looks. See, he's already getting back up on his own."
"But your method of 'training' my little brother is beating the stuff out of him, and let him figure out what he did wrong. I'm sure there's some middle ground between both methods." Iris narrows her eyes and lets out a sigh.
"Please stop, Master Motoyasu. There's no point in getting beaten bloody when it's only a training session!" Bertia casts her worrying eyes over to the Spear Hero. A patch of blue is forming over his head where he was hit by General Anderson earlier, and blood still trailing from the corner of his mouth.
"I'm fine, Tia. See? It's just a scratch." Motoyasu wipes the blood off his face as he reassumes the battle stance he learnt from Tanya. Seeing how Bertia doesn't look convinced, he continues. "I couldn't do anything against that pope without my friends backing me up, and he said there are plenty of people as strong as himself in this world. How can I protect any of you if I don't get stronger? Don't worry, I'm not dying in a training session. I'll get stronger through training, so none of you will get hurt!"
"Good spirit, boy! If my own grandson had half of your resolve I wouldn't have nearly as much gray hair." Everyone in the garden turns to look at the general, and sees his completely gray head. General Anderson takes a few steps forward as he stops right in front of the Spear Hero. "Tell me, boy. Have you heard about that rumor? About me being an escaped slave of Siltvelt?"
"Yeah. I heard Iris mention it." Motoyasu nods his head. He turns his head around, and sees Iris stepping away from her grandfather and shakes her head in a sign of dejection. "They are malicious rumors people spread to make Iris' family look bad, right? Just like that priestess accusing Iris for making her take the fall?"
"Both are true. Iris screwed up when she was building her orphanage, and she unknowingly misappropriated lands owned by the church. And I was a slave owned by General Ouki, the Monstrous Bird of Siltvelt. The official explanation of me being the distant relative of a Melromarc general was a fabrication to make House Amelia save face, for the head of their family marrying the daughter of a former slave. Iris should have been more honest with you." General Anderson's eyes leave his granddaughter and moves back to the young Spear Hero once again. Both Katarina and Bertia stare at their childhood playmates with eyes opened wide, and mouths opened even wider. "What will you do with this information? Knowing that my granddaughter isn't some infallible saint, who wasn't even honest with you. And more importantly, knowing she is the granddaughter of a slave?"
"It means nothing to me!" Motoyasu replies without missing a beat, with no hesitation in his voice. "I don't care if Iris isn't as good as people thought she was, or if she didn't tell me the truth. She trusted me when I was an idiot playing at being a hero, and she helped point me in the right direction to become a real hero. Malty didn't tell Naofumi the truth either, but she still helped him get where he is today. I might not be as smart as Naofumi, but I'm as grateful to Iris as he is to Malty. And even if I'm behind, I'll do my best to catch up, and become a hero Iris could depend on."
"Good answer, boy. See how easy this is, Iris? Sometimes you need to be more trusting towards those you work with. Schemes and manipulation are all well and good in your little game, but depending on who you work with, honesty and trust can work better." General Anderson doesn't pay any attention to his dazed looking granddaughter, or her equally mesmerized looking female friends. He pulls his weapon forward as he gets into his own fighting stance. "I'm not going to lie to you, boy. Since I was born a slave, I never had a proper teacher. Everything I learnt to make me the man I am today, I learnt by observing General Ouki, or crawling through mountains of corpses and swimming through seas of blood on the battlefield myself. I don't know how to teach someone, other than beating the lesson into them. And since everyone thought I'd make the best teacher for you... I'm not going to make it easy for you just because you are one of the heroes."
"That's more than fine with me! Naofumi got stronger because he had to work for his power." Motoyasu clenches his hand tightly around his spear, as he charges at General Anderson. The clanking of weapons begins to resume over the air of House Amelia Manor.
I have lived much of my life in denial, and I have failed too many people as a result. Now is the time for me to wake up, and start to face my responsibilities to let others depend on me. Because in the end... that's what trust is all about, isn't it? Letting others help you, and you help them out in return.
The people of Stormwind would not visit the potion shop unless they have something that ails them. For one, the shop itself is no place for entertainment like a tavern. The serious and dour personality of its young owner also does not lend him a reputation as someone to have an easy conversation with. But for anyone who walks in front of the shop, they can hear the sound of a hard smack against someone's head with the shop owner's frustrated yell, "USELESS!"
"Is this how you should treat one of the heroes- OW!" Sir Crepe wipes her head around to face the young alchemist. She is smacked right on the head just like the Bow Hero. The smack is hard enough to make her recoil back and hold onto her head just like Itsuki, one can see red colored marks between her fingers. By contrast, the Bow Hero already has his head hanging low, the mark of someone's slap on his head being much more apparent on account of him not covering it up.
"I don't care if you are a hero, or a princess. Making medicine is serious business because we are playing with the lives of others. People could DIE if they are given treatment or potion of inferior quality!" Raruk didn't back down. If anything, he seems even angrier now after Sir Crepe's protest. "If you can't do your job correctly, leave! I'm not putting up with incompetent 'help' that'll get my patients killed!"
"I think you are being a bit too harsh on Master Itsuki, big brother Raruk." Rishia quickly scuttles over between Raruk and Itsuki. She grabs the mortar and looks inside, a frown only stays on her face for a brief moment before the young noble girl smiles. "These herbs cut a bit too large to be used for potion. But it's still useful. We can make balms out of them."
"You pamper your honeyman too much, Rishia. He wanted to learn how to brew potions, and his result is clearly not acceptable." Raruk crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at Rishia. His accusation causes the green haired girl to blush and look down. After a brief confrontation, the alchemist throws his hands up. "You know what? You teach him. He's clearly not ready to go straight into potion brewing, the more advanced form of medicine preparation. And I have no time to waste teaching a couple of complete amateurs. I have to make potions for the entire Stormwind after the mess he caused, and I have a long backlog that'll pile to the end of the waves. You get him caught up on the basics, and then we'll talk about him helping me clean up the mess he caused."
"Yes. I think that's a wonderful idea, big brother Raruk." The young alchemist didn't bother to stay behind and respond to his childhood friend. He simply gives her a wave of his hand, grabs two baskets full of prepared potion ingredients, and turns around to walk into the inner room where the cauldron is set. Not too long after, the sound of fire cracking can be heard. Rishia grabs the hand of both Itsuki and Sir Crepe, as she leads them to another bench located on the other side of the shop and has them sit down on the small stools. As she starts to jam the pestle into the mortar, she notices how the Bow Hero is silent and unmoving, and Sir Crepe's sight never left the young boy. "What's wrong, Master Itsuki? Was... was Big Brother Raruk too mean to you? Did his words get to you?"
"I wanted to help people, but I messed up again. Because I don't think through my decisions... just like that time your childhood friend asked me to rescue you and take you away, and I ended up causing a revolt." Itsuki didn't finish his words as Rishia suddenly embraced him, much to Sir Crepe's frown. "Wha- what's this for, Rishia?"
"We all make mistakes, Master Itsuki. But you can't only dwell on your mistakes. You are trying to be better. Now you do everything to help people first, not to cause more pain. You wanting to learn how to make medicine to cure wounds and ailments is proof of that." The shy, aristocratic girl native to Stormwind breaks their hug and pulls at Itsuki's sleeve, forcing him to face the equipment laid in front of the workbench in front of him. She begins to show him what to do as she grabs the tools of her friend's trade. "It's my fault for bringing you to big brother Raruk without preparing you first. To make sure you got the basics covered. Not everyone is a natural at making potion right from the start after all. Honestly, I think even Master Shield Hero got lucky because he happens to have weapon forms unlocked that made it easy for him to prepare potions right away. Now, let us start with something basic. A balm that'll help with scratches and lighter wounds on the skin. The medicine doesn't have to be diced and grinded into tiny bits like a potion. More coarse and chunky bits can also be made into a fine paste when you beat it enough with a mortar and pestle..."
"Let me see how you do it too! I'm also here to learn. I may no longer be a princess of Gallia anymore. But I still want to do my people right." Sir Crepe stops biting her lips, as she forces herself to sit between Rishia and Itsuki. The Bow Hero stares at the pair of young women staring at each other for a few moments. He stands back up, pulls Sir Crepe onto the stool he was sitting on, and falls in the middle of them.
"So... that traitor Mald that was in my party. I think he got handed to the queen with the rest of those Three Heroes' Church criminals, right?" Itsuki places a set of mortar and pestles in front of Sir Crepe before grabbing his own, and starts working on granding the badly prepared herbs into a paste. "What happened to him?"
"Pretty sure he got deported to Faubley, as one of the criminals who'll face their judgment alongside those condemned from Three Heroes' Church. It's beneath me as a knight, but since now I'm a real hedge knight with no master and no connection to any noble families... good riddance!" The former princess nearly bared her teeth as she spat her distaste towards the thuggish knight. "I don't know how House Armure allowed someone like him to become a knight in the first place. But if I know how the noble families work... they'll send someone to you to replace him. To reclaim their family's lost honor if for nothing else."
"Let's hope it'll be someone better. A thug has his use, but I'd rather not have someone going around hurting people in my name. Especially when they turn out to be traitors who'll sell us at the drop of a hat." Both Rishia and Sir Crepe nod to Itsuki's comment. The three of them spend the rest of the day making basic healing balm in Raruk's alchemy shop.
I used to be full of anger at the world. At how I was constantly mistreated, at how the world keeps taking good people like Shining Man away. And when I got my first taste of power, all I can think of is making who I thought were bad people pay. But in the end, all I'm doing is hurting more people. And now I have to go back to the start, learning how to help people. Because in the end, justice is about helping others, not hurting others.
The servants working in the royal Melromarc castle keep their heads low and busies themselves with their work. The guards and knights stationed near the queen's private chamber keep standing around like statues, pretending they don't hear a single thing. For those who are stationed near the queen's private sanctuary, they know that the public message that Princess Melty is Queen Mirellia's pride and joy can be a tiny bit of exaggeration. But the young princess was still well-behaved for someone of her age and upbringing, and she would always obey her mother's wishes unlike her more rebellious elder sister. It certainly doesn't sound like the case anymore as the young princess is practically screeching at her mother right now. "Why did you try to give Big Sister Malty away, Mother?! Now she's a slave of the Shield De- Hero, and I don't have a sister anymore!"
"I didn't give Malty away because I wanted to, Melty. You should know your father had committed grievous mistakes at the start of our current crisis, and turned the world against us. The agreement to make Malty King Egbert's queen was to ensure we have at least one powerful ally that would keep the other nations away, and stop the possibility of them launching an unified crusade against us. Which will cause us much more than a single princess." The high queen of (not so) glorious Melromarc rubs her aching head. Melty might be smart for her age, but she's too inexperienced. Especially with the filthier side of ruling with her effort to keep younger daughter pure and just from its corruption. "It's lucky that King Egbert already foreseen the possibility that the Shield Hero would not be willing to let go of his first, and most attached companion. And he had the wisdom to realize launching a crusade against one of the most powerful nations during the Wave of Catastrophe would bring doom to all of us. So he is willing to settle for future recompense after the crisis is over."
"So you were going to give away Big Sister Malty when you didn't even have to?" Melty drags her right foot half a step through the enchanted stone floor, her face mixed with fury and horror. "Archduke Wales was right! This really is your fault! Now my big sister is being taken away by that dirty raccoon slave girl the Shield Hero got, and I don't have a big sister who'll take me for rides, and read stories for me anymore!"
"Melty. That is not the language a royal princess, much less the heir to the throne, should use." The queen frowns, and puts on her displeased voice. Which is always all it takes to remind Melty how to behave herself befit her station. "If you wish to go for a ride, I'm sure someone from Lord Spear Hero's possession will be happy to oblige you. If you want people to read you bedtime stories, there are nannies and maids who I can dispatch to Lord Spear Hero's party, if Iris Amelia hasn't supplied them for you herself. As a member of the royal house, and Melromarc's future queen who lives pampered lives thanks to taxes and tithes from our people, all your actions must put your people first above your personal feelings."
"But they aren't my sisterI" Melty's outcry completely surprised the queen. "If both of us put our people first, who will put our family first?! How is this fair to my Big Sister Malty?! And what does it say for you, for me in the future that as the high queen, we can't even protect our family?! How can we care for, and protect our own people, if we don't even care for and protect our family first and toss them away like they meant nothing?! If this is what it means to be a queen, then maybe I don't want to be the Crown Princess anymore!"
"I will not have you speak to me this way, Princess Melty!" The queen stands straight from her chair and angrily shouts at her younger daughter for the very first time, her fury is like a rolling thunder. "You may be my only heir now, but I'm still not so old that I can't give birth to another. And even if I were, blood adoption is always an option if I find you unsuitable to lead and defend our people."
"Why don't you just do it!? Maybe I don't want to become the queen! Why don't you disown me like you did to Big Sister Malty, and have 66 be your perfect daughter! At least I'll be with my sister who actually cares about me. Not pretend to be a perfect princess and heir to the throne with no family!" The young princess didn't back down, her own anger mixed with grief is like a storm as she runs out of the room rather than facing her mother.
The queen slumps on her chair, and places one hand over her face. As she is about to withdraw into her own mind, she suddenly feels one hand resting on her shoulder. Said hand is slowly moving upwards, towards her naked neck. "If you want to have more children, I'm happy to oblige, my queen. With our union, we would surely produce a much smarter child between you and that dimwitted old geezer."
With a snap of her finger, the hand on her body retracts as fast as if it's been burnt, and a torturous scream comes with it. The queen snaps her finger again to turn off the slave seal's punishment function, narrows her eyes, and lets her voice out with a sneer on her face."You are fifty years too early to even think about comparing yourself with my husband, you little shit. Always remember your place. You are nothing more than an attack dog I took under me because you are convenient for me to let loose at my rivals and enemies. Now make yourself scarce, before I have to spend more time teaching you proper manners. I will not be as gentle as I was a moment ago."
"A- as you wish... my queen." Queen Mirellia could hear the hate filled glare in the little shit's voice as he scurried out of her room. She paid the arrogant boy no mind. Perhaps she acted too harshly on her husband's punishment and it gave the wrong signal to the nobility to think Aultcray had lost all her favors. To think, even some dirt plower from the border had gotten the idea that he could get into her bed to win political favors. How absurd!
But the foolish boy's proposal does remind her just how precarious Melty... and more importantly, her own position is. Archduke Wales might have used his proposal for a Vote of No Confidence to force her retracting her decision to have Aultcray take the political fall because everything had happened since the illegal hero summoning (which IS primarily his fault). But it no doubt gives other players of The Game ideas, Prince Joseph especially. The mad prince of Joseph would not motion the proposal himself, or through any nobles under him. It would make his ambition to usurp her position too transparent and possibly make the proposal fail. But if he somehow convinces another high lord to motion for the proposal, or find another opportunity where she shows weakness... his ascension would be all but guaranteed.
It's for this reason that her threat to Melty about raising another heir rings hollow. She can't wait another two decades for a newborn heir to reach adulthood. There's simply too much that could go wrong in such a time with her reputation in tatters. Blood adoption is equally not viable when Melty had not done anything wrong to lose her heir status. To go forth with such a boneheaded decision would only trigger any highlord to motion for a Vote of No Confidence against her. As for replacing Melty with her own body double... that's the kind of childish fanciful idea only a kid would think of. Shadow 66 was taught to act as a royal princess to be Melty's substitute in dangerous situations, not how to be a princess, let alone the heir to the throne.
She had truly been pushed into a corner by Malty's decision to stay and support the Shield Hero no matter what. With the Shield Hero hopelessly enchanted by her elder daughter, there's no chance for a peaceful resolution between them when she knows that Malty will simply repeat all her own mistakes if she is allowed to be the next queen. Melromarc the nation, and more importantly, its people will not survive another reign under someone just like herself. And with the Shield Hero as her enemy, she has no choice but to cave into the other ruler's demand of handing the heroes to them.
If only Malty went with Aultcray's plan to falsely accuse the Shield Hero. With him slumped in despair, it gives her the perfect opportunity to tie him up with small acts of grace. Until she finds the perfect opportunity to tie Melty to him. He might be entitled to the rank of a duke, but he has no power base already built in this world. And he would have been the perfect supporter to ensure Melty's peaceful ascension and independence as a ruler.
But now with that route blocked off... Melty's reign would not be peaceful even if she managed to succeed without any difficulties. Duke Amelia and Duke Velthomar would seek to influence and control Melty with their power base, thanks to Melty's tentative connection with Lady Iris and Lady Katarina. Melty's hypothetical future reign would be filled with constant under the table fights between Amelia family and the Crusader Block.
It would have been such a good bargain... But now it's no longer available, I can only do my best to keep the situation from further deterioration, and hope Melty would grow wise enough to avoid my own pitfalls.
The bandits prove to be easy for Ren, no matter how many bodies they throw at him, or try to use their crude traps against him. After fighting against disciplined and well-trained opponents like those from the Three Heroes' Church, they are nothing but a group of thugs who prey on the weak and the defenseless. Scum! He doubts even Naofumi would be willing to show them mercy. Although for the moment, he has something else to worry about than the bandit group he's hunting down. He turns to look at a certain demi-human girl in his care, whose appearance is mostly not a girl anymore.
"Ahahahahaha! Die, die you scum!" Wyndia wields a short sword in her right hand, and a thorned whip in her left. She spots a face splitting grin, her fluffy shiba inu ears are waving like a pair of excited little hands every time her weapons draw out a wave of blood from the criminals surrounding them. She had always been easy to excite (Ren privately always wonders if that's due to her being part of Shiba Inu, and then he felt guilty for stereotyping), but not to this degree. Was it because of her sudden growth spurt? He'll have to ask Naofumi how Raphtalia deals with it later.
"Don't get too excited, Wyndia. We have to be careful if these bandits use some dirty tricks against us." Ren gets into a low stance that prioritizes defense over offense. Privately, he doubts these criminals could do anything worse, or even unexpected after fighting against that Pope guy. But he still needs to set a good example on Wyndia who is both impressionable, and also doesn't have a hero weapon she could relate to.
"Ah, yes, Master Ren! I will not let myself get carried away and become your burden!" Wyndia stops pursuing her own target and runs over to Ren. With the way she shuffles her feet full of energy, she looks just like a human shaped dancing shiba inu. Well, youthful candor or not, at least she still listens to him when he says something right. The two of them advance side by side, carefully dodging fallen logs and avoiding pitfalls and snares using weapon arts and magic to clear their path when they can't see plain earth in front of them. It slowed down their advance tremendously, especially when the bandits constantly sent people out to harass them. But it's better than getting hurt, or worse, embarrassed by a group of thugs for underestimating them.
The effort to clear the traps and barricade took longer than fighting the actual bandits. But eventually, they reach what looks like a fortified camp that's mainly made of wood. A gruff-looking man with a beard is standing on top of their makeshift wall. He looks like the leader of the bandits on account of him having a functional full set of metal armor. Despite his fierce look, the man looks surprisingly subdued and talkative. Probably thanks to the strength he and Wyndia displayed so far. "So, you must be one of the legendary heroes to be this young yet this strong. Do you really want to kill us all? We are only freemen who don't want to kneel down and pay hard earned coins to some rich, inbred bastard. Whose only claim to supremacy was being lucky enough to be born into the right family. How about we work out a deal, hero? You leave us alone, and we'll pay monthly... no, weekly tithe to you. Honestly. If we have to pay someone, we'd rather it be someone who earned it through their strength."
Ren can feel Wyndia's gaze on him. He narrows his eyes and stares at the bandit leader. From the submissive way he talks, one could almost believe himself to be some honest man who simply went down a bad life because of what the evil, EVIL noble did to him. "I let you along, so you'll continue to harm innocent and defenseless people of this land? Village of Castane, plundered three days ago. Twelve dead, three of them children, ten women were taken away. You are not some freedom seeking men trying to escape from the evil oppression of aristocrats. You are a pest, disease to this land harming the innocent you claim to be! I'll show no mercy to the likes of you! And I'll definitely not enable you just so I can have some additional income!"
"If that's how you want to play. Those women will die if you take one more step closer!" The face of the bandit leader turns into a teeth bared, cruel sneer as he suddenly pivots around and pulls at something. A woman in a rag is dragged onto the wall as the bandit leader presses his weapon against her neck. The woman didn't react, as her eyes looked almost glazed over. "I was trying to do you a solid for being a hero, but since you refused to behave, I'll treat you as the arrogant little shit you are! Fuck off if you don't want innocent blood on your hand. Who knows, I might even let this one go if you leave that little bitch beside you with us. This one is starting to bore me anyway."
"You truly are a scum, and an idiot." Ren holds Wyndia back among the taunting jeers and laughter of the bandits. As his words come out, a column of fire suddenly rises up in the bandit's camp. As the bandits instinctively turn to the back to look at the commotion, Ren raises his sword high above his head. "[Swords of Revealing Light]!"
All the bandits on the wooden rampart have their bodies frozen by his sword art. Wyndia is only a single second behind him as she throws her short sword out of her hand. It pierces the bandit leader's head like an arrow. The shiba inu girl didn't stop there, as she swung her whip forward to wrap its tip around the top of the wooden wall. Ren wraps an arm around her waist and kicks off against ground hard as he leaps over the bandits' fortification. He falls right among the bandits on the wall thanks to Wyndia's whip helping him aim in his landing. The two of them quickly split up and kill the rest of the bandits on the wall before his sword art loses its effect.
Underneath the fortification, Sir Beckter leads the rest of Ren's companions as they protect the kidnapped women who the bandit wanted to use as hostages. Thanks to Ren and Wyndia drawing all of their attention away, the infiltration team did their job perfectly. The heavy armor wearing knight can apparently be surprisingly sneaky, then again... he is a knight who is trained in warfare. Stealing enemy camp is probably something he was trained to do. As the last bandit drops dead, the knight returns his weapon back to its sheath and nods to Ren. "The mission is a success, Master Ren! We have killed all the bandits, and rescued all the women who were taken from Castane."
"Well done, Sir Beckter. Your leadership in leading the team is to be recommended. And everyone, thank you for your help ensuring the safety of all the victims. Let's return them to their homes now." Ren's words of congratulation are met with subdued cheers from his companions, and a few gurgling noises from some of the captive. Clearly, it'll take a while for them to recover from this harrowing experience. Ren wished he had paid more attention to the bandit problem before to prevent these poor women's tragedy. But at least they are safe now.
Sir Beckter led the rest of his companions to start going over the bandits' belongings. Ren doesn't feel comfortable looting them and keeping blood money, but everything these scums own were stolen from hardworking, honest common folks. It'll be used for a good purpose in helping the village of Castane recover. As the others work to clean out this camp, Wyndia sits besides Ren and looks up. "So... I have been wondering a while now, Master Ren. Why do you, and Master Shield Hero have such weird sounding last names?"
"They only sound weird because you don't know our language. Naofumi's last name means 'Rock Valley'." Ren looks down at Wyndia. He wonders if it's okay to let his older companions do all the work while he chats with Wyndia. But since he's been only focusing on getting stronger... he really doesn't know what to do to help Sir Beckter and not mess things up instead.
"Oh. I suppose that doesn't sound too strange if Master Shield Hero was actually named Rockvalley. What does your name mean?" Wyndia kicks her feet up and down, and gives Ren an innocent, and curious glance. Ren feels like he's going to regret it, but he really doesn't have a good reason to not tell Wyndia after revealing the meaning of Naofumi's last name.
"It means Sky Wood."
As Ren expected, Wyndia's cheeks turn red and puffy, and then she's rolling on the grass bawling with laughter. "BAHAHAHAHA! I- I'm sorry, Master Ren. I know I shouldn't with how bad these scum were and what they did to Castane... but your last name is Skywood! That's so funny! HAHAHAHA~! Maybe, maybe I should call you Sky Guy from now on?"
"Whatever you say, snips." Despite the minor annoyance of having his last name laughed at, Ren can't help but chuckle along with Wyndia. It's probably more than a bit insensitive to laugh near victims who had been badly treated by a group of pillaging scum. Yet, he can't help himself to be a little influenced by Wyndia's energy. Hopefully tomorrow will be a brighter day for himself, and these victims.
I used to see the world only in gray, thinking nothing in the world mattered because of how powerless I was. But in my own depression, I have forgotten what truly mattered in the world: The people living in it. Everyone, trying their best to live their lives. It's time to stop feeling sorry for myself when I have it so much better than a lot of other people, and try to share what I do have with them.
The mattress Malty is sleeping on probably isn't the softest she's ever been on. Yet it practically feels like a puff of cloud after how long (and used to) she's been sleeping in sleeping bags, or ground during their escape from the Three Heroes' Church's prosecution after the Third Wave. The princess turned slave would have stayed on it for a bit longer, if not for the sound of a wooden door opening waking her up. She groggily sits up, rubbing her eyes and sees Mala standing not too far from the bed she's sharing with Naofumi and Raphtalia. Her former maid's arms hang limply on her sides. The price Mala paid for destroying the front gate of Melromarc Castle thankfully isn't her life, but both of her arms is still a price too heavy to pay.
Mala could have stayed in the palace even after her arms were broken. Mother had offered to make sure she's taken well cared of for the rest of her life thanks to her service, but Malty's former personal maid discharged herself. And she offered to join the service of Naofumi afterwards, for Malty. Just like Uncle Aldrecht, Malty can never truly repay her for her service, and loyalty.
"I would have let you rest a bit more, Malty. But the eggs Lord Shield Hero bought are twitching. They will hatch soon." Mala turns around and exits their room before Malty has a chance to say anything to her. The three Yuzus jumped out from Raphtalia's embrace as they bounced around the two incubators sitting on the nightstand. Seemingly eager to meet the newborns. They are definitely acting much more smart, possibly even sentient than normal balloons one finds on open plains.
"Well... early bird gets the worm, I guess." Naofumi also rises up from the otherside of the bed. "Let's go, Raphtalia. I'll help you wash your face."
"I can take care of myself, Master Naofumi." Raphtalia crawls up from between Malty and Naofumi. The three of them quickly refresh themselves as they exit their inn room. It's one of the low end inns in the capital in terms of amenities offered, on account of how Mother isn't paying for any of the Shield Hero's lodging due to his debt to Prince Joseph. But at least it's clean enough to avoid disease carrying vermin. Soon, the rest of the Shield Hero's party enters their shared room to witness the birth of their new members.
Naofumi turns his head over to Sir Oersted, who is leaning against the window with his hands resting on his waist. The young Gallian knight looks thoughtful as he stares towards the south. "Do you miss your princess, Sir Oersted? Now that the rebellion of the Three Heroes' Church is over, you can go back and marry her, right?"
"I could. Yes... but this crisis made me realize there's still so much more wrong in the world. Something that could harm Alethea, and something I could help with as a knight." Oersted turns his head to look at the Shield Hero. "Yeah. I'll go back to Gallia to tell Princess Alethea what happened. But I'll hand in my request to join the heroes' retinue now all of you are sanctified by Vicar Vittorio and Arch Vicar Logarius. I'll return to her when I know the world is safe, when she will be safe: after we stop the Wave of Catastrophe, and this Burning Legion Lady Alaya talked about. I don't know if I'll be able to join you, Master Shield Hero. Since I don't know which one of you, or if any of you will stay in Melromarc after you go to the world conference at Cal Mira Island. But rest assured, I will do my part to stop this crisis."
"Good to know we'll have your help. But don't be too hard on yourself." Naofumi places one hand on Sir Oersted's shoulder. "You matter too. Don't be so eager to help everyone else, that you neglected yourself, and hurt the people you truly cared about. Don't make the same mistake I did right before the Third Wave."
"Thank you, Master Shield Hero. I will remember it. But I think Princess Alethea will understand." The young Gallian knight gives Naofumi a nod of his head. "She is a good person. She understands the need to keep her people safe, and I'm also protecting her by fighting in the waves. I think she will wait for me for one more year."
While Naofumi is talking with Sir Oersted, Malty moves closer to Mala. Baldy and Blue Eyes (who also left mother's service to protect her) each take a step behind them, to give the two of them some privacy. She stands closer to her personal maid, the one who took over the job of raising her after the death of her nanny. Mala gives a sideways glance to Malty, but remains silent and lets Malty have the first words. "You... you didn't have to do any of... this for me. Mala. You should be allowed to enjoy the rest of your life after everything you have already done for me. You were… more like my mother than the one who gave birth to me."
"I took an oath to your father to protect his daughter with my life, in exchange to the one who I helped to take away." Malty realizes Mala is talking about Henrietta, the daughter Father had with his first wife Marianne. She can't imagine someone like Miss Mala killing a young child even in her youth, but with her no doubt fighting for Siltvelt back in the Great War. Perhaps she sees herself indirectly responsible. "But it's good to see you matured, Malty. The Shield Hero is no doubt good for you, and perhaps he gives you some wisdom like Aultcray did for Mirellia. Regardless, don't worry about me. Even without my hands, I am more dangerous than most men. At least, I can still taste poison for you."
The screeching noise of the balloons, and excited cooing from Raphtalia let everyone in the room know the monsters being incubated are finally hatching. Tiny little beaks break through the cracked shells as Raphtalia takes off the glass dome. And two baby birds soon emerge from the broken eggs. One of them has orange feathers, the other a shade of red Malty is very familiar with. The princess turned slaves runs to the night stand, picks up the red baby birds in her hands and holds her up. "Have you returned to me, Mein?"
I used to see myself as the most unfortunate person in the world. For losing so much that should have been rightfully mine. But after I was brought out of the sheltered life I built for myself, I finally saw how lucky I was. Maybe we can't always live up to our ambition, but with wisdom, we can learn to accept what life does bring us. Because in the end, there is only acceptance.
Final End Note:
We get a final round of farewell from all four cardinal heroes (and Whipping Boy's Bitch). All of you could probably notice each of them reflect on a stage of grief by me literally highlighting it in their short internal monologue, and that's definitely intentional on my part. I think it fits their canon portrayal, not sure if that's intentional creation on Alenko's part, or they simply bumbled into good writing once again.
The queen is obviously supposed to be the stand-in character for Malty, at the beginning of her journey while Malty herself has moved on enough to be at the same stage as Naofumi. And we get to see a little bit more on the political play from her perspective. And no, Bartfuck did not move up the social ladder. He exchanged one horrible slave master for another and is still being used like a glorified attack dog.
The comparison to Anakin and Ahsoka's relationship (without any intention on shipping) was actually inspired by a comment made by my long time friend Angel Wraith. He pointed out how my critic on Naofumi and Raphtalia's romantic relationship should also apply to Ren and Wyndia because Wyndia is also at the same age with Raphtalia. Personally, I don't think it's the same thing as Ren is a few years younger than Naofumi and only a teen rather than a young adult, and his emotional, especially romantical sense was clearly not well developed enough for a potential romance with Wyndia to comes off as uncomfortable (or more likely... to be happening at all!). But I do agree on principal with him that Ren having romantic feeling with Wyndia is just feel out of place if there wasn't that guilt from killing her father aspect. So my solution... is having them develop an Anakin/Ahsoka like relationship at this stage, and see where the story would naturally take it.
As for this story... after four years, it has finally concluded. And of course, chronologically speaking we are only at the end of Three Heroes Church Saga of RotSH. What I considered the 'good' part of canon. I'd say here is where the quality of Alenko's novel dropped off the cliff, but that would give the wrong impression of it had a high point to begin with.
XDDD
And that's part of the reason why I decided to conclude Ambition of the Red Princess and start a new story from this point on ward. While I still have problem with a lot of details Alenko wrote during what I dubbed 'the Three Heroes Church Saga', I still consider the overall direction of the plot to be structurally sound and worth salvaging. Only need some tweaks and some minor (or not so minor) directional change to make it truly good. Which is why despite all the changes I made, it still mostly followed Alenko's basic main plot outline but either showing additional context, or from different point of view. The rest of RotSH's plot... not so much.
Not to say I will be doing entirely my own thing. Because that's not true. As from I heard about LN, it's structure is basically Naofumi go to different part of the world to pacify it. More or less the same Dragon Age Origins format I'm also be using. I'm also going to be salvaging what I consider to be good enough from canon. Going the mostly WN route for spirit turtle, although obviously it won't be the three weapon heroes that release it. And the whole Siltvelt conspiracy subplot from Spear Hero side story was genuinely a good idea... that Alenko concluded in something like two pages of the manga by unbeatable demi-god Motoyasu (best waifu in the entire extended RotSH canon) secretly slaughtering all the conspirators. Yep, that's definitely going to be the main plot for the Siltvelt storyline.
But for the most part, I'm going to be doing more and more of my own thing from this point on rather than following canon.
That's the other major reason on why I decided to conclude Ambition, and start a new story. While I certainly didn't plan it from the start, Malty as a character came on her own through my many mistakes. Originally, she wasn't meant to be anymore than a smarter version of her canon self. A more true sociopath who simply uses her allies, but has both the smarts and patience to stick them for the long haul rather than ditching them (and completely burn their bridges) at first sign of trouble. And her role was originally more akin to Nick from [The Great Gasby]. An observer/narrator of the actual protagonist of the story.
Of course, that changed when I made my massive plot blunder only 3 chapters in, and my co-writer Comrade Broseph convinced me to simply roll with it rather than massively retooling the chapter to fit my original vision. So Malty's backstory became massively more sympathetic (and I nearly had a migraine later when I learnt that was basically what happened to her in canon...), and completely changed how her characterization goes from this point onward. So she became an actual protagonist and Naofumi mostly got sidelined for most of the Three Heroes Church Saga till his final confrontation with Balmus (if you wonder why Malty barely had a role to play during that encounter... it's left over from my original plan where she's mostly supposed to be the observer). Shows what happens with a story and its characters, when a writer is willing to let things play out naturally rather than beat the square peg into the round hole with an iron fist. Like Alenko did in canon. You can't keep a genuinely good character down, if you are a writer with some actual artistic integrity.
But in either of my two plans, Malty as the main story's single POV character works thanks to her being from a high position therefore have knowledge to explain things to the readers (but also have her own bias to make her narration not entirely trustworthy), and are close enough to the core of the action that she wouldn't miss out most of the major events.
It wouldn't work nearly as well with this story from this point onward. My own aspiration for this story was writing a full political & war epic in the similar vein as GRRM's [A Song of Ice and Fire], or more specifically my own point of reference as a Chinese, our classic literature [Romance of the Three Kingdoms]. So Ascension of the Red Princess will be told from multiple POVs to reveal information from many different sides for the political and war drama, even if Malty will obviously still be one of the major main characters.
So yes... unfortunately for those who doesn't enjoy the expanded world aspect. The sequel will lean more heavily in that direction as that's always been my own aspiration. What intrigued me for RotSH had always been the promise (which Alenko was never interested to fulfill) that despite all the unbeatable power the demi-god like heroes would command, they are still beheld to the world's social and political aspect and have to play by certain rules. I think if Alenko had actually gone with this direction, RotSH would have been an actual smart deconstruction to the Isekai genre of WN/LN (or not... Alenko could have genuinely just been incompetent at realizing their aspiration rather than choose not to due to their lack of artistical integrity) rather than pretending to be one by making funny faces to certain tropes, and then turn around being the exact same thing it pretended to mock.
For anyone who only wanted a more personal story about how Malty grew as a character... I think I managed to end Ambition of the Red Princess on a high enough note that I myself can at least look back proudly. For everyone who are genuinely interested in my original aspiration, I will see you all in the sequel, Ascension of the Red Princess.
Editor's Note:
As someone that has stuck with this story for over 4 years, starting with Chapter 10, it has been an honor seeing this fanfiction completed.
I was drawn on the premise of having a layered antagonist, evolved into a responsible leader. And while it is controversial, I quite had fun providing the mirth of a few scenes in the story.
Seeing Malty S. Melromarc going through a massive character development, from villainess to hero, getting her hands dirty, and finally developing genuine feelings of goodness is a premise that most wouldn't give credit for.
Seeing Biscas T. Balmus evolving from a cowardly strawman of Christianity (or religious institutions in general) to a respectable antagonist, is something to be appreciated. And I am glad to be working weeks in my free time to make sure that the prose and diction was at its very best, so that you get to enjoy a dramatic and seamless experience.
Subverting the expectations of OP protagonists like Consevatie steamrolling their way in the plot, and Naofumi not resorting to "edgy" behaviors, and addressing the slavery issue, was a blast. Seeing the perspectives of our many "guest" characters flipped or retold is a refreshing way to view them.
I think that it was a wonderful experience from start to finish, and I'm glad to take part in a literary experience I think more people should enjoy. For me, it helped me become more regimented, disciplined in life, and gave me something to look forward to.
I can't wait to see you all in the sequel, and I can't wait to show you what's in store.
-Ace-Triad, 8/3/2019 - 12/17/2023